On the First Sunday in Lent, we blessed and distributed 200 pocket crosses at Christ Church. The idea behind the pocket cross is to encourage us to pray for each other.

As you know, we keep our pocket cross on our person during Lent – on a cord, or in a pocket, or in a purse and we think of a person we would especially like to pray for during Lent. Often people choose to pray for someone who is sick or facing a particular challenge. When we encounter our pocket cross during the day, it reminds us to pray for the person we’ve chosen.

The cross for us is a symbol of pain and suffering. In Lent we particularly focus on the meaning of the cross, and, in fact, we begin our Lenten journeys with an ash cross placed on our foreheads. It reminds us that Jesus suffered and died on the cross, and that as Christians we are so bold as to say that God suffered distress and pain on the cross. Christ’s wounds are our wounds, and his pain is our pain. When we use our pocket crosses to pray for another person, we unite ourselves with them in prayer and in some small way share in their suffering.

But the cross is also for us a symbol of victory. During Lent the cross in the church are veiled, but at Easter the veils come off and the full power of the cross is revealed. The paradoxical power of the cross heals wounds and transforms victims into victors. At Easter we may give our pocket crosses to the person we’ve been praying for as a tangible token of our support and also as a statement of faith that, although our problems and illnesses will not magically disappear on Easter Day, by God’s grace we share in the power of Jesus’ Resurrection.

On Sunday, March 21st, the Women of Christ Church held a bake sale to benefit the two Carpenter’s Kids supported by our parish. A total of $101 was raised through this effort, and we thank all who contributed.

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Vestry of Christ Church New Brighton took place on Monday, March 8, 2010. Following is a brief synopsis of important discussions that took place at that time:

Treasurer’s ReportDorothy Thompson noted that the Choir Room insurance fund is overdrawn by $4,848, but that an additional payment of $12,438 is expected from the insurance company.

Plant & Equipment
Susan Fowler reported that the choir room repairs are finished. The architect who drew up the plans will inspect the room before final payment can be released to Burda Construction. The Hands to Work, Hearts to God crew primed the Choir Room walls and mold-fighting powder will be added to the final coat of latex paint. A licensed asbestos inspector will be inspecting the Rectory basement.

Worship & Liturgy
Paul Smith has been elected to chair this committee. The church is in need of new tapers, the torches that are used to light the candles for church services. They will be purchased and the expenditures will be recovered from parishioners as memorials.

Education

Marshall Green chairs this committee. The Godly Play program is going well. A curriculum will be chosen for youth of high-school age. A book group is to begin in the spring.

Our Youth Group will again this summer host a group from South Carolina: Several friendships have developed from last year’s visit.

Fund Raising

Alleida Mitchell chairs this committee. Ruth Richards has been elected as the new committee chair and will assume these duties in October, when the committee will meet to schedule events for 2011.

In July the committee will be collecting clean, usable clothing and accessories which will be sold to a New Jersey-based company, which in turn will sell them to poor countries.

The Spring Fair "Admission Raffle" has been replaced with a "Super Raffle" that will offer three prizes.

The Spring Fair dinner will take place this year on Saturday, June 5, one week prior to the fair itself, which will be on Saturday, June12. The proceeds from all events go to the parish’s Operating Budget.

Bishop Mhogolo of the Diocese of Central Tanganykia visited The Church of St. Andrew on March 10th and celebrated a Lenten Mass following a light supper. It was most interesting to have him speak in the service about his work with the Carpenter’s Kids and the plans for those children in the future.

As those of you who are contributors know that we are now in the fourth year of a five year support commitment. The question now is what will happen to those children in the future if funds are cut off. The diocese is considering asking supporters to continue for five more years so that the children will have a complete high school education.

For a secondary education a program is being considered which is much more costly than the $50 per annum which supports the children now. A plan to set up an annuity for such a program is likely to be arranged in the near future.

Daniel and David Wood will be hosting this year’s festive Easter Sunday reception, which takes place in the auditorium immediately following the 10 a.m. service. As everyone knows, there is always a wonderful variety of sandwiches and desserts, as well as punch and sherry.

There is still time to offer your donation of sandwiches for the reception. If you are interested in making a contribution please speak to David or Dan. You can reach them by telephone at 718-816-5831.

Tickets for this event are $50 per person, and may be purchased from any member of the Fund Raising Committee, or you may call the parish office at 718-727-6100 to reserve your tickets. Please R.S.V.P. by April 13.

Please take note of the Youth Group activities that have been scheduled for the youth of our parish for April and May.

The activity nights have been designed for middle and high school ages (grades 6-12), and the Bible Study is geared for high school students (grades 9-12). If you have any questions please speak to Fr. Chuck.

Friday, April 9, time TBA
Activity Night
Roller Jam

Friday, April 23, 7:00pm
Bible Study
Science

Friday, May 14, 7:00pm
Activity Night

Friday, May 28, 7:00pm
Bible Study

Coming EventsSunday morning Confirmation classes are currently underway. Candidates will be attending the diocesan Confirmation service at the cathedral on Saturday, May 22.

We are planning to attend the diocesan acolyte festival on May 15 at the Cathedral.

Many of you may remember Fr. Clarke French, who served as our Interim Rector prior to our call to Fr. Chuck.

Clarke, and his wife Sally, were blessed with their second child, Elizabeth Louise French, who was born on February 24 and weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz. Their first child, Jack, was born while Clarke was still serving at Christ Church.

Our love and best wishes go out to the French family on this most blessed event.

Congratulations to Andrew (“Ted”) Schneider (the son of Janet and Paul Schneider) on his recent promotion from 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant.

Ted (shown here in a recent magazine photo) is currently stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where he serves with the 4th Space Launch Squadron. One of his most recent assignments was to monitor the Delta IV, a satellite which provides weather monitoring and prediction capabilities.

I looked forward with great anticipation to the latest concert, on February 28, 2010, in the excellent "Serenade at Historic Christ Church" series. The harp is noble, beautiful and romantic and it deserves to be heard more often as a solo instrument. This concert was wonderful; in fact, I have scarcely been able to get the harp and its music out of my mind since.

Mr. Sivan Magen is a marvelous musician. He produces a very full and rich sound that seems at times almost to be an orchestra. He was born in Israel and in 2006 he was the first Israeli to win the 16th annual International Harp Contest in his native country. His prize was the magnificent harp that he brought with him to Christ Church.

The modern harp was created in France in the 1830s and Sivan Magen has been thoroughly schooled in French traditions. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and holds a Master’s Degree from New York’s Juilliard School of Music. He spends about half his professional time as a soloist and the other half in chamber music. He is now in the Netherlands giving concerts and master classes.

Mr. Magen’s Web site is www.sivanmagen.com We are very fortunate indeed to have the Serenade concerts at our church.

The Sunday School is collecting plastic eggs, candy, simple toys and monetary donations for their annual Easter Sunday Egg Hunt. Please speak to Sheila Hewitt or Connie Black if you’d like to make a donation.

Spring is finally here and Easter Day is just days away. Our church has been buzzing with so many activities lately it’s pretty obvious that the energy level is high as we prepare for blooming flowers and trees and warm sunny days.

One sure sign of spring is finding Nick Dowen puttering about in the parish garden. He was spotted recently in his straw hat with his shovel in hand.

We hear that Olisha James has been working very hard, but enjoying herself as well as she continues her six-month internship at Disneyworld. She is currently pursuing her degree in hotel management, and was fortunate to be chosen to participate in this exciting program.

Our annual March Fish Fry was an overwhelming success, with over 150 people in attendance. Congratulations to Alleida Mitchell and the hard working staff of volunteers who made this evening such a big success.

Glad to see that Dorothy Thompson and Vlasta Jantzi are on the mend. It was pleasure to see them both in church a few weeks ago.

Congratulations to Roselyn Charles on the birth of her two adorable twin boys, Peter and Luis. Some of you may remember Roselyn from the days when she served as an acolyte on Sunday mornings.

If you’ve been wondering where David and Dan Wood have been lately, rest assured that they are both doing fine. They are currently on their annual 4000 mile car trip to visit friends and relatives in Texas and Oklahoma. But rest assured that they will be back in time for Easter - just in time to decorate the church with all of the beautiful palms and floral arrangements that help to contribute to the beauty of the season.

That’s all for now. Best wishes for a blessed and joyful Easter season.

We are pleased to report that things are finally back to “normal” at Christ Church – musically speaking, that is. The choir room renovations
have been completed and choir members were thrilled to move back to their regular rehearsal space.

In addition, the lovely wood façade for the organ has also been renovated and put back in its rightful place in the sanctuary. We’ve provided a photo in this article, but be sure to check it out for yourself the next time you are in church!